Great Bend Post Sports
The Panther baseball team moved to 5-0 on the season with two more wins Thursday in Hutchinson. After a 4-3 win in game one, Great Bend made things more comfortable in game two with a 14-2 win.
Hutchinson plated two runs in the first inning of game one and led 2-1 into the top of the fifth. Carson Umphres doubled and scored on a single from Ian Premer to tie the game. The Salthawks got a run back in the bottom of the fifth, then Trenton Kern doubled and scored on a single from JJ Grove in the sixth to again tie the game at three.
Umphres struck out the first two batters in the sixth but the Salthawks had two runners in scoring position when an offensive interference call ended the threat.
Owen Kaiser reached on an error to open the top of the seventh. He advanced to third on a sacrifice from Slade Mohr and a single from Hunter Herrman. Kaiser scored the go-ahead run on a 2-out single from Peyden Oelger. The Salthawks put the tying run on third with one out in the bottom of the seventh but Umphres struck out the final two batters to again end the threat.
Umphres threw all seven innings for the win, striking out 10, walking one, and allowing three earned runs on six hits.
The Panther offense pounded out 13 hits. Kern doubled and singled twice, Mohr singled and doubled, and Umphres singled, doubled, and walked. Premer also had two hits.
Great Bend scored in all six innings of game two, book-ended by a pair of five-run frames. Herrman picked up the win, striking out six and walking two in five innings of work. He allowed one earned run on two hits. Mohr allowed an earned run on three hits in his one inning on the mound.
Grove had the big game at the plate with a home run and single, driving in four and scoring twice. Premer tripled and singled twice, Umphres doubled twice and singled, and Kaiser doubled and drove in three runs and scored twice. Carson Poe singled and walked three times, coming around to score once.
The Panthers play host to Kapaun on Tuesday, April 2 at the Sports Complex.